15 December 2009

thankful

I'm thankful that our home is warm. Not overly warm, around 67; but compared to outdoors right now, a tropical paradise.

I'm thankful for my home. And even more so, I'm thankful that after living here a year, it's starting to feel like home just a little.

I'm thankful for my family in more ways than I can express here. Earlier this year, I struggled with the fact that time does not stand still. Even when you're sure that you have more time; maybe you do, maybe you don't. Dad's diagnosis of prostate cancer in June and then of Crohn's disease in July were reminders to all of us that whether we like it or not, time is finite. He's taken that and run with it; getting more joy than ever out of life. Joy in his sometimes very difficult work as a hospice chaplain, and joy in learning a new hobby- the drums. It's wonderful to see him so happy.

We all experienced the loss of my grandmother this summer and that was difficult; more difficult than I had ever anticipated. It brought up my own mother's mortality and even mine as something that really kind of smacked me in the face. It wasn't pretty.

Let's just say that the passing of our Grandma served as a reminder to me to tell people that you love them, because you may not get another chance.

Even amidst the uncertainty, I'm thankful for my husband's employment situation. Business is such that he could have easily become unemployed weeks if not months ago. But we're super thankful that hasn't been the case. There are some questions about the future that remain unanswered, but we hold on to the hope that God has a plan and we'll be able to see what that is when the time comes.